100 Pieces of Love
by savingxgrace
Summary: My take on the fanfic100 challenge for that adorable yet kick-ass technician, Amelia Banks. Includes A/Ronon A/Chuck A/Vega pairings. Spoilers for all seasons.
1. 001

Title: Last Day

Characters: Amelia Banks, Alicia Vega, Chuck.

Prompt: 001 Beginnings

Word Count: 478

Rating: PG

Summary: Amelia had never been one for goodbyes.

*

Amelia had never been one for goodbyes. But in the beginning she was.

She would say goodbye to her father, her brothers, when they went away. She would say goodbye to her friends every time she moved to a new base. She'd said goodbye to her mother.

So after a while, she got used to it and soon it became unnecessary to perform the parting ceremony of tears and hugs to comfort her conscience.

When it came to Atlantis, however, that changed again. She knew there was a very good chance she would never see many of her friends and family again. Knowing she was out of practice, she left it to her last day in the galaxy. It was hard, harder than she expected, but she got through it relatively unscathed.

"So you're going to join the military?" Her father asked of her before she had even finished her sentence. "About time."

"Not exactly," She replied somewhat hesitantly. "I'm going, but only as a civilian – a technician, actually." She looked down at her hands but she could almost hear her father's sneer.

"Your still doing that computer thing then..."

"Yes, I am." She interrupted, snapping her head up with an anger she didn't know she possessed. The man leaned back in his chair, observing his daughter with dark eyes. He was assessing her, ascertaining where this new found strength had come from. "And I'm leaving tomorrow so I would really appreciate it if you told Todd and Wayne I said goodbye when they get home from training." She got up from the couch, placing the now warm glass of water on the coffee table in front of her as she did so. "And tell them that I love them."

"Amy." Her father called to her. She looked up at him. "I love you, too."

"Yes, sir." She nodded, not meeting his eyes. She made to leave but paused for a moment. "Just tell them, okay?"

*

"My mother wouldn't stop crying," Alicia, a young woman with dark hair was telling Amelia as they started to move away from the orientation room. "I had to stop myself laughing at her hysterics."

Amelia made to laugh at Vega's attempt to be humorous but it caught in her throat. But before Vega could question her about it, they were stopped at the entrance to the gate room.

"Are you the new girl?" A guy asked Amelia. He was looking at her uniform, unmarked as of yet. Vega already had the mark of a soldier so he passed over her rather quickly.

"I'll see you later, Amy." The woman said and she continued on her journey with the other military personnel.

"Amy, is it?" The man, who looked around the same age as herself, asked.

"Amelia Banks," She told him boldly. "It's Amelia."

He nodded. "I'm Chuck, welcome to Atlantis."

*


	2. 002

Title: Stuck

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Ronon Dex, Chuck

Prompt: 002 Middles

Word Count: 465

Rating: PG

Summary: Being in the middle of Atlantis' busy hub has its downfalls. But it also had one perk that Amelia shares with a new found friend.

Author's Notes: spoilers for Remnants and Prodigal.

*

It wasn't particularly hard, being in her shoes. The hard part was being in a completely different galaxy to everything you once knew and loved. But it was a good job and the pay wasn't bad either.

"I'm going to take a break," Amelia told Chuck as she got up from her chair. Another technician immediately took her place. In any other job, she might have been insulted and quipped something similar to 'would you jump on my grave that quickly?' But in Atlantis, it was different. It was necessary for everything to run smoothly, otherwise Dr McKay or even Col. Sheppard would come up and ask if everything was okay along with other boring, unneeded questions about the wellbeing of their beloved city.

But Amelia was used to it. She had learnt from Chuck early on that if you weren't used to it by the end of two weeks or so, you would break under the craziness of it all. But that was the one thing that Amelia didn't like about the job.

The best thing, which Amelia would never fully admit to herself, was that it was the best position to receive all the passing gossip of the happenings in the lost city. Like how Mr Woolsey, not long ago, was spotted talking to himself near a transporter and on a balcony. Amelia heard all the speculation - that he was driven mad by loneliness or by the pressure of the job, even that a wraith had somehow managed to get inside his head. Amelia knew all of them to be false, but it didn't stop her from being highly entertained by them.

And another, that was just as entertained by them as she was, surprisingly, was Ronon. Who knew the silent, brooding Satedan could be so amused by the fanciful rumours that she passed along?

Amelia entered the commissary and spotted Ronon over by the window. Almost everyday since Michael had come to the city for the last time, when he hadn't been on missions, he had sat in that exact same spot and did nothing but wait. She wasn't sure what for exactly, but she liked to think it was for her.

"Hey, Ronon," She greeted him and sat opposite without waiting for a reply. He had a large tray full of food in front of him but he only nibbled on a carrot at the time.

"Hey, Banks." He nodded to her and threw the remaining of his snack on the tray. Amelia picked it up and took a bite. Ronon just smiled his small, almost invisible smile. "What's new in Atlantis, Banks?"

Amelia smirked, leaned forward conspiratorially. "You heard what the guys are saying about Lorne?"

Ronon shook his head and matched her smirk inch for inch. "Tell me..."

*


	3. 003

Title: Rough Landing

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Ronon Dex, Richard Woolsey.

Prompt: 003 Ends

Word Count: 550

Rating: PG

Summary: The end of Michael and being anonymous.

Author's Notes: Tag to the Prodigal – Missing scene

*

Amelia passed Mr Woolsey as he walked out of the infirmary. He had an amused expression on his face that she had never seen there before. She nodded with the usual polite greetings that an employee would give to their boss as they passed.

She reached the entrance and paused for a moment to watch the man she had come for before he saw her. He looked peaceful, if a man that looked like him could be viewed as peaceful. But that was a stereotype and she quickly pushed it from her mind.

"Hey, Banks." Ronon called to her in his deep, rough voice. It seemed even rougher now, most probably from the sleep he had just been brought out of. She gave him a shy smile and continued over.

"It's Amelia, you know," She said as she sat down on the bed next to his. He just shrugged and she let it alone, figuring at least she would know who was calling her when everyone else called her by her given name. "How are you feeling?"

Ronon seemed amused by this question for some reason and Amelia had to admit that it probably wasn't the smartest inquiry, seeing him lying in the infirmary and all that.

"Concussion, few broken ribs, dislocated collarbone," He listed off. "I'm fine."

"I thought it was just a concussion." Amelia mused, raising a brow at the Satedan.

"Woolsey?" Amelia nodded. "Yeah, I told him that just to get him off my back."

"And get back to active duty faster?" Ronon actually had the decency to look sheepish and that was enough of an answer for her. There was an awkward silence that followed. Amelia looked down at her hands, fidgeting slightly.

"So, kickboxing then?" Her head snapped up again. It was her turn, this time, to look sheepish. "You had some nice moves."

"Thanks, but I try not to make a habit of randomly breaking other people's bones."

"You should." Was all Ronon said and Amelia just smiled. "I've been looking for a new sparring partner since Teyla has Torren now."

It wasn't a question or an invitation, it was just a simple comment but the way he looked at her after he had said it made her nod with a grin that showed him her enthusiasm for the endeavour. There was another silence after this, both just looking around at their surroundings with small smiles.

It wasn't until much later when the doctor came over to tell them that visting hours were over. Amelia was sure it was a joke of some kind, or maybe the doctors here liked to keep some sort of home in their working habits but she agreed anyway.

"Oh by the way, Dex, I wanted to thank you." Ronon just looked up at her with his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Why?"

"For stunning that hybrid before he tore me apart." Amelia stated simply but honestly. To lighten the brooding silence that had fallen over them now, she continued on in a less serious fashion. "And for bringing me out of hiding. It seems now everyone wants to know about the incident."

"Your welcome."

She nodded, though she wasn't quite sure if this was a good thing or not. "Good night, Dex."

"Night, Banks."

Only time will tell.

*


	4. 004

Title: Out and In

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagen, Jennifer Keller, Rodney McKay, John Sheppard.

Prompt: 004 Insides

Word Count: 634

Rating: PG

Summary: Amelia Banks' initiation starts, even if she didn't know it at the time.

Author's Notes: Very minor spoilers for S5 Search and Rescue.

*

The first time I was asked to sit with the 'in' crowd, I almost panicked. It was unexpected, though the others didn't seem to think so. I politely and nervously accepted the invitation, first made by Teyla, and slid cautiously into the only vacant seat, next to Ronon.

Col. Sheppard was eyeing me from his position next to Teyla, opposite me and I felt like my every move was being scrutinised. I didn't dare look up at him from my tray, afraid if I looked at him, it would become even more awkward for me than it already was.

But Teyla just turned to Doctor Jennifer Keller who sat at the head of the table, asking her a question.

I felt like a total outsider, whom everyone thought was an insider – out of my element and making it worse for myself with every nervous breath I took. To me, it started to sound like I was having trouble breathing, it was so laboured. So I counted it out. I was concentrating so hard that I didn't notice Teyla turn to me until I felt the gentle nudge of Ronon's forearm against mine.

"Amelia," The Athosian woman said to direct my attention toward her. "What do _you_ think of Mr Woolsey's first week in Atlantis?"

I was so taken aback by the question that I must have looked like a fish out of water, opening and closing my mouth like I was. Col. Sheppard seemed amused by my reaction but waited for my answer none the less. Ronon on the other hand was more interested in the table than in me, it seemed.

Keller was about to open her mouth to say something in my silence and by the look on her face, it was most probably something amusing at my expense.

"I think he's having a hard time adjusting..." I started, essentially cutting off the doctor without seeming to be intentionally rude.

"to the responsibility?" Keller asked me before i could really finish my thought.

"no, to not wearing a suit everyday." I said with a perfectly straight face. "I think he liked the restriction."

I, in the moment, didn't intend for this general opinion to be funny, instead just wanting to see Keller's reaction to not being right for once, but from opposite and beside me I hear snorts of laughter. Sheppard quickly covered his with a lame coughing fit. Teyla kindly offered her services in patting his back for him. Ronon didn't even try an attempt, grinning first at me then more subtly and wickedly at Keller.

When he looked back at me, he was still smiling. I found this very rare coming from the Satedan so it was hard not to smile back.

The moment was ruined, perfectly, by Dr McKay's entrance to the food hall. He wandered over in his usual arrogant strides and stood right beside me as if I should acknowledge him in some way. When I didn't look, he coughed, raised a brow in my direction and waited some more. Ronon's smile turned more into a smirk then and as he turned away, I could see him rolling his eyes. This made me chuckle softly and when I turned to look up at the scientist, his expression was of a wounded manner.

Instead, however, of apologising with a pleasant smile, as I most likely would have for any other person, I held out my hand.

"Hi, I'm Amelia Banks." An almost wicked smile to match Ronon's came to my lips. "And you are?"

The look that crossed McKay's features after that moment gave me and Ronon many discussions, and fuel for more mischief, in the future.

I had passed, unconsciously, my initiation and now, and for many years later, we all still teased him about that day.

*


	5. 005

Title: Sunshine

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Ronon Dex

Prompt: 005 Outsides

Word Count: 804

Rating: PG

Summary: It was the first time she had been off-world since coming to Atlantis.

Notes: I seem to have lost the ability to write fluff somewhere along the way... I'm not quite sure if that's a bad thing or not.

*

She couldn't believe it; she was out of the city. She was out of Atlantis! She had to suppress the urge to twirl around in the sunshine as they stepped out of the gate's vicinity.

She didn't think that the team would appreciate her acting like a little child in the first snow of the season. But there was no snow, and she wasn't a little child. She was just happy she wasn't stuck at that desk in the control room for one more day.

Amelia turned to glance back at the 'gate she had just travelled uncountable light years through, instantaneously. But there was something in the way - something dark, large and looming over her with the afternoon sun behind it so it was nothing more than a silhouette.

Amelia jumped in shock before she could stop herself. The shadow chuckled a low, rumbling sound at her expense.

"What?" She snapped at him, getting defensive very quickly.

"Nothing," Ronon answered her, the amused expression still planted firmly on his face. "Just how your face changed..."

Amelia waited for him to finish the thought but it never came. He just trailed off as he continued to walk past her and towards the retreating forms of the scientists he was babysitting for the day. He lightly brushed her side as he did and Amelia couldn't help but glance down at the pulse pistol at his side. It certainly didn't seem necessary, but knowing the danger that these military men attracted, it made her feel just that little bit safe – and scared.

She hesitated before following the tall Satedan. It was difficult to catch up with his long strides but she managed, keeping pace only by doubling her steps when she reached his side again.

"What do you mean 'how my face changed'?" She asked, just to break the silence that had fallen over them. She knew the man didn't like to talk much but long silences made her uncomfortable for some reason. She had hardly had many opportunities for deep and meaningful conversations while on Atlantis and working and now she was away from there, it might actually be nice to _talk_ to someone, even if it was him, the only person around.

"I saw you," He said simply in reply at first. She waited and this time he continued. "It was like you'd never seen a place like this before."

She looked away from his face to take in her surroundings once again. There was greenery everywhere, flowers in full bloom and the sun just now starting to fall behind the humongous trees that filled the skyline each way she looked.

"Well, if you had been stuck inside that city for as long as I had, you would look..." She paused, once again looking at him. She pursed her lips in thought then shook her head. "Never mind."

Ronon just chuckled that same rumbling sound again. But this simple act seemed to finish her sentence for her. The usually brooding man seemed more carefree out here, Amelia had never even heard him laugh before and now he had done it twice in the space of five minutes. She just walked on, now sporting a smug little smile.

"Do they all look the same to you?" She asked again after a while of more silence. Since they had last spoken, a few of the scientists had stopped along the path to observe the wildlife and greenery of the planet. Ronon and Amelia seemed to be the only ones not totally obsessed with single entities, but rather the general splendour.

"McKay sometimes complains that they do..." Ronon answered evasively. He wasn't looking at her, choosing instead to gaze up at the clear blue sky that was slowly becoming darker, even while he watched.

"But you?"

"No. They each have something different..." He did the trailing off thing again and she just rolled her eyes, not expecting him to continue. She was pleasantly surprised. "Before... I came to Atlantis, I would jump from planet to planet not caring what they looked like – only that they didn't have wraith on them."

He stopped suddenly, his face emotionless. She prompted him gently. "And now?"

"And now... I notice. Knowing I won't bring death to it, knowing that it will survive another day."

Amelia was stunned by the depth of the man standing next to her. She had always just thought he was another warrior, built for killing the bad guys, just like the rest of them. But this one seemed to have a conscience. She offered a sad smile when he looked down at her.

"It's nice to be outside." Amelia pondered honestly after the silence stretched on. Ronon simply nodded in agreement as the sun finally set behind the trees in the distance, setting off a brilliant display of colours across the horizon.

*


	6. 006

Title: The Return

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Richard Woolsey

Prompt: 006 Hours

Word Count: 574

Rating: G

Summary: She just hoped he was okay, wherever he was. Future!fic. Amelia/Ronon.

*

"Amelia?"

It was the second time Mr Woolsey had called her name in the last minute, trying to catch her attention.

"Mm?" She answered, looking up from her daze to meet his questioning eyes. "Oh, sorry." She sat up straight in her chair. "Yes, Mr Woolsey?"

She earned one more questioning gaze then he returned to the matter at hand. "Have Sheppard's team checked in yet?"

"No, sir," She replied swiftly and confidently – she had been keeping up to date with that detail herself. They were now two hours past their scheduled update time and it was soon to go up another hour.

Woolsey was thoughtful for a moment, pressing his lips together in a way that Amelia noticed he did when he was starting to get nervous about something. She started to panic. If the leader of the Atlantis expedition was nervous, shouldn't she be? She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off, seeming not to notice.

"I'm sure they have a perfectly good explanation," He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Keep me updated, Amelia." And with a quick thank you, he walked back across the bridge to his office.

Before long, she was back in her dream – or nightmare – world. Where were they? They could have gotten lost, or hurt or even been taken captive in the time they had been gone. At least the wraith was out of the picture now. But it didn't ease her nerves in the least.

She suddenly got a determined look on her face. Getting up from her chair at the control desk, she marched into Woolsey's office. She had a right to know what was going on.

"Sir, I believe we should send a search party." She announced before Woolsey had probably even noticed her presence. He looked up slowly from his notes to meet her burning eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure in a few hours..."

"No, I believe we should send Lorne and his team now." To further emphasise her point, or maybe showing self-doubt in her authority, she crossed her arms over her chest. A piece of highlighted hair fell from the usually perfect bun she held it in but she hardly noticed.

"Amelia..." He started, paused for a moment, thinking over the phrasing of his next statement. "I know this must be hard for you with Ronon..."

"Sir, this has nothing to do with..."

"Amelia," He said her name this time in a tone that told her to not interrupt him. "I know this is hard for you – and for all of us." He amended quickly, seeing her expression. "This is the first mission since returning from home, so of course it might go a bit differently than we hoped. I'm sure Sheppard and his team have already made contact with the alliance and have just been caught up in talks of some sort, okay?"

The way he ended the conversation ended her protests. She gave a quick nod.

"That is all." She nodded again.

On her way back to her station, she couldn't help lifting her left hand to look at the ring that sat on her finger there. It sparkled in the faint light of the evening. But the sight and feel, as she brushed her thumb across the diamond, didn't bring a smile to her face as it usually did. She just hoped that her Ronon was okay, wherever he was.

*


	7. 007

Title: Solace

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Ronon Dex

Prompt: 007 Days

Word Count: ~600

Rating: PG

Summary: Amelia reflects on the outcome that no one wanted to admit had the possibility of coming true.

*

Five days, 16 hours, 15 minutes and 5... 6 seconds since it had all ended for her. It had been five days since she had been told that she could never return to Earth again. Never see her father, her brothers, her friends, ever again.

And there was nothing she could do about it. That was the worst part. The total and undeniable fact that she had the inability to change what had happened or what will happen from now on.

Sure, others might have had it worse than her – others that have wives, husbands, children that are probably already dead or just a matter of time until they are.

Amelia had never thought herself a pessimistic woman but today she was. For today and the last five days they all were.

The only time when she could not be pulled back into the dark abyss that was when she was with the 'aliens' – if that's what Teyla and Ronon could be called after more than five years in the service of Amelia's expedition. Amelia had never thought of them as aliens but for the last days, she was glad of it. They were quieter, solemn even, of course, but they didn't let it consume them as some of Amelia's previous friends did.

That was why she never even said a word when the first day back she turned up at Ronon's door. He didn't either, just let her in and then sat with her for the next few hours, just holding her. His strong, protective arms were enough for her to feel she could let herself go. That was the first time she had cried since the return.

And this was why at this moment, she paused as she reached out to open his door. It was sunrise and she had to be at her post soon. She looked back as her hesitation lengthened. He was still lying on his bed, watching her. At her expression, whatever it was at that time, he sat up slowly and looked at her intently, as if waiting for something that not even Amelia knew was coming.

"Thank you," She found herself saying. It didn't even sound like her voice, as if she was disconnected from her body and her mind for those few seconds that she voiced her gratefulness. She didn't think that thank you even covered what Ronon was doing for her but he seemed to understand. He nodded once but when Amelia didn't move, her hand still outstretched to the activation crystals and her eyes looking over her shoulder, he stood from his position and crossed over to her.

Amelia was surprised to notice that he was so graceful in his actions as he stood in front of her. A warrior like him shouldn't be graceful. But just like everything else about this man, it comforted her. This man, who had seen so much death and destruction, was no less a human for doing so. It brought her the solace that she didn't think could exist after what she had witnessed on her home planet.

So, they had lost the battle. But as Ronon leaned down and gently brushed his lips across hers in the softest way that Amelia could think possible, she had the faintest glimmer of hope that maybe... just maybe, if love like this could exist, they hadn't lost the war.

*


	8. 008

Title: Just Wait

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Ronon Dex

Prompt: 008 Weeks

Word Count: 907

Rating: PG – some swearing.

Summary: It's been one week too long and the waiting is killing her.

*

"Why won't you come out, you little shit?" Amelia all but screamed at her very large, annoying stomach that protruded out to the point where she could no longer see her feet. And no matter what the others said, they weren't going to stop moving because of that fact.

She let out a long, deep sigh as she leaned backwards a little. Her hands moved to her lower back and she closed her eyes as she took in a breath to replace it.

All this time, her feet still shuffled along the soft carpet underneath her. Once she reached the other end of their quarters, she would awkwardly turn and start to walk the other way with a small – or not so small – bounce to her step.

She didn't really know if the deep breathing she did was calming herself or just making her more hyped up. But it didn't matter. She was never one to be held up in a single room for long periods of time... Her job being excluded. That was different. In her job she was allowed to move around as she wanted and not be forced back into bed when someone came by like she was now.

And she was going mad. Walking and bouncing was the only way to stop that from developing further than necessary.

The door slid open and the tall, dark silhouette that stood in its place told her that she was in trouble. She didn't care. She kept walking.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" She snapped back. She resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. His appearance wasn't a good step in the sanity direction as far as she was concerned right now. She took another deep breath and turned to walk in the opposite direction, still bouncing.

"Doc says you need to be in bed."

"I know that. I'm not deaf, just incapacitated it seems." She snapped again, starting to become so frustrated that she felt the prickle of tears in the corners of her eyes. Damn those hormones.

The man sucked in a sharp breath, obviously fighting the urge to come over to her and pick her up to put her in bed himself.

"Doc says..."

"I don't give a fuck what Keller says!" She screamed, rounding on him as she reached the other end of the room. "She didn't put Teyla on bedrest when she was pregnant with Torren."

"That's because she was taken by Michael before she could even get to your stage."

The hint of an edge that appeared in his voice told her that she was on the line that was never crossed and she knew that she was wrong for bringing it up but she still refused to back down.

"I need this thing out of me!" She told him, almost pleading as the tears spread down to her throat, leaving the words that left her lips to catch as she spoke them. "I need to give birth!" To emphasise the point, she repeated the words to her stomach. Then she looked back up at him, still standing inside the doorway, and with her eyes slightly narrowing, continued to walk.

"And you think walking like you are is going to help?" He asked her as his brow raised slightly at her bounce.

"You never know." She hissed as she approached him. With a flick of her long hair, she turned and started the act again.

"Banks..." He called to her softly. She unconsciously slowed her pace. "I know how hard this is for you." She heard his voice getting closer and then his arms were around her and his large, rough hands were cradling her belly. "But it's not just you anymore."

"Thanks, honey." The sickly sweet manner of her tone hinted at sarcasm. He kissed her temple next to where his cheek rested. At least she had stopped moving now.

"I don't want anything to happen to you... to either of you." She didn't say anything. He could see she was starting to see reason. But she still wasn't completely convinced. He decided to try another tactic. "I want my boy to grow up big and strong."

"It's a girl." She stated simply. He could feel the smile tugging at her lip. And so the debate raged on.

"Hey, the machine thingy could be wrong."

"Highly unlikely."

"Doc says there's still room for mistake."

"She was just trying to make you feel better – it's not hard to guess you wanted a boy."

Gracefully accepting defeat, he just kissed her temple again. "I'll be happy with either."

"You mean either way, you'll still train the baby to fight."

"No, of course not." He said, turning her around to face him so he could lightly place a kiss on her lips. "I won't start until it's at least three."

"Well, that's oddly comforting."

"Any day now." He reminded her.

"Yeah, just 7 days late."

"Better late than never." He said, strongly hinting towards the bed with a soft nudge. This time it was her turn to gracefully accept defeat and as Ronon pulled the covers over her legs when she finally lay down, she smiled ruefully. Her body may accept this but her mind still wouldn't.

_If you don't come out within this week, I'm forcing you out. _But her threat fell on deaf ears.

If this baby was anything like her father, she wouldn't listen anyway.

*


	9. 009

Title: The Subtle Differences

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Alicia Vega

Prompt: 009 Months

Word Count: 613

Rating: G

Summary: What is a month in Atlantis time?

Notes: Small spoilers for Season 4. Implied pairing.

*

"So, how's your first month in Atlantis been, Amy?"

"It's Amelia."

"Whatever."

Vega handed her a beer and she gratefully accepted it. They smiled at each other at their little ongoing joke. Ever since the first time they had met they had gone through this ritual of greeting. It felt oddly comforting, something normal on this alien planet.

"So how's the month been?"

"You know, I don't know if I would call it a month."

"What is it then?" Vega, ever the soldier, asked of her. Of course she wouldn't notice how the moon, or rather the three moons that currently orbited the planet, weren't on the same timing as the earth's moon. But Banks did.

"An earth month, I guess."

"Oh, my god! You've been possessed by aliens!" Vega mocked her. Banks just gave her a playful glare.

"No, seriously," Banks continued, ignoring Vega for the moment. She took a swig of her drink. "We have three moons and none orbit at the same speed, none are the same as the moon back home. So what exactly is a month here?"

The scientific nature of the question seemed to baffle Vega because she took a rather long drink. Banks waited for the answer but it never came. She laughed instead.

They were silent for a little while and Amelia, looking for something to do tipped a little bit of her beer over the edge of the pier and watched as it fell a few hundred feet into the water below.

"Hey, don't waste that. I paid good money for it." Amelia looked back over her shoulder at Vega. "Okay, fine. I won it in a bet. So really, I still paid for it in a sense."

"What was the bet?"

"The fight today."

"But I thought there wasn't a winner."

"Yeah, only because Carter broke it up. But I was smart and bet on both anyway. Chuck was reluctant to let me collect but I explained that technically I picked right."

"You mean that you threatened him." Vega's answering smile was all the confirmation Banks needed.

"To victory, then," Banks offered. Vega chinked her bottle against the one offered and they both drank.

They were silent again, sporadically drinking.

"So you masterfully avoided my question," Vega said suddenly. Banks almost jumped from the sudden interruption.

"I told you, your question doesn't technically make sense." Vega aimed a glare in her direction but her attention was diverted out to the wide, open ocean. One of the moons in question hung low on the horizon, almost painfully bright in the dying light.

"Alright, so, going by that moon right there, how long is a month?" Vega asked her, hoping to stump the technician and get back to normal conversation. But Banks wasn't so easily stumped, apparently.

"Approximately two and a half earth weeks." She supplied, smirking though Vega couldn't see it.

"okay..." Vega pondered her next move over another swig of her drink. "What about that small moon that you can only see when the sun comes up?"

"That one is one day," Amelia said. "You can only see it when the sun comes up because it rotates with the sun."

Vega furrowed her brow. "And the third moon?"

"That one is one Earth month and a day." Banks finally turned to Vega and grinned. This earned her a quick slap across the shoulder closest to Vega. They both laughed then both took drinks.

"So, Amelia," Vega aimed at her companion. Amelia smiled at the use of her name. "How was your first month?"

Banks threw her empty bottle as far as she could into the ocean. "It was fine. Thanks for asking."

*


	10. 010

Title: Twists and Turns

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Chuck

Prompt: 010 Years

Word Count: 672

Rating: G

Summary: It was a particularly slow day on Atlantis, if a day on Atlantis could ever be called slow.

*

It was a particularly slow day on Atlantis, if a day on Atlantis could ever be called slow. There were only two technicians on in the control room at this time currently coming up to the end of their six hour rotation. Unfortunately, the end couldn't come fast enough.

"How old do you think Atlantis is?"

"ten billion years..." Came the sarcastic reply from across the console. She looked up from her position stretched out in her chair. She had been having a rather interesting study of the ceiling when a crack had caught her attention. It was miniscule. She wasn't even sure how she saw it in the first place. But after his reply, her focus was on the man opposite her.

"You didn't even hesitate." She stated simply, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Either you've thought really long and hard about this before or you're making it up."

He gave a short laugh and raised an eyebrow in her direction. "That's great. I'm either useless or a liar. Which is it?"

She pretended to think about it, even daring to bite her finger in concentration. "I haven't decided. Do I have to pick _one_?" She gave a wicked grin and he tried to look around him for something to throw at her from his place at the other side. He couldn't see anything that he couldn't risk breaking so he pointed a finger at her, narrowing his eyes.

"You're lucky I've already thrown all I can at you."

She didn't miss the double meaning behind what he said, even if he didn't realise it. "Wow, that says something..."

"Don't make me come over there, Banks."

"Oh please, you wouldn't risk losing your groove in that chair of yours. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it was permanent."

Chuck made to get up but thought twice about it and leant back instead. She just aimed her grin at him again.

There were a few more minutes where they attempted to get on with their work, whatever it was, but failed. Amelia started to swivel around in her chair.

"You're going to fall over..."

"Yes, sir."

"No, seriously, this floor is very smooth, these chairs could go sliding and you never know where you might end up." Amelia levelled a stare at him during one of her turns. "I'm speaking from experience." She stopped by grabbing onto the console when she passed it for the fifth time in a row.

Chuck checked his watch. "Five minutes to go." He answered when she looked over at him. She nodded and after another long silence, started to tap her fingers on the glass in front of her. He tried to get her to notice his glaring but she ignored it.

"What are you doing after your shift?" He smirked when she stopped and turned to look at him.

"Going to bed..." She answered hesitantly. Everyone else was asleep in most of the city, where else would she be going? He nodded, turning back in his chair to look at the control panel he was meant to be working on.

Soon enough, the replacements came into the control room, laughing and refreshed from their early nap. Chuck updated them with what was going on, which wasn't much but still managed to catch Amelia before she had reached the transporter.

"I'm starving, want to grab something to eat?" She seemed taken aback by this question and he was about to open his mouth to tell her not to worry about it when she cut him off.

"Why? Afraid of the dark, sir?" She asked, clearly pleased with herself.

"Yes, that's exactly it." She wasn't expecting that and it was his turn to wear her expression. "So?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

They both stepped into the transporter at the same time, but instead of hitting the area of the commissary, Chuck chose the transporter closest to his quarters.

"This time it's my turn to cook."

She nodded curtly, trying to hide her smile.

*


	11. 011

Title: Old Red Wine

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis

Characters: Amelia Banks, Richard Woolsey, Chuck, Teyla Emmagen, Jennifer Keller, Rodney McKay, John Sheppard, Atlantis, Ronon Dex

Prompt: 011 Red

Word Count: 800

Rating: G

Summary: She's leaving and only one person can stop her. But she's not sure who that one person is.

Notes: Inspired by The Who song Old Red Wine, hence the title, especially by the second verse. And surprise, surprise another angstyish fic. I don't know why I insist on writing it since I'm never really good at it. LDT

*

The red wine in her hands smells old, expensive and past it's prime. But she dare not say that to the man across the desk.

"So there is nothing I can say to stop you?" Richard Woolsey asks her and she shakes her head with a small, sad smile. "Well, all I can say is that we'll miss you."

She looks up at him and nods. "Thank you, sir."

"Please, I'm not technically your boss anymore. Call me Richard."

"Thank you, Richard." She takes a sip from the glass in hand and endures it as it slips down her throat.

*

"To the greatest technician that ever worked here!" Chuck shouted from the table he was currently standing on, a bottle with no label held high in the air. Several people shouted in agreement and she had to shadow her face with her hair to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks.

A woman she hardly knew came up to her and hugged her. This is what a party on Atlantis was like. Smuggled alcohol and too many people crammed into too small a room for them all to fit.

But she liked it this way. She would miss this way.

*

Teyla and the others who joined them on the girl's poker night sat around the table. She had somehow ended up at the head and everyone's faces were turned towards her.

"I'm going to miss these..." She muttered to no one in particular.

"Miss them enough not to go?" Jennifer asked from her left. Her reply was the small, sad smile that she was giving everyone in the past days.

There was silence from the rest until Teyla spoke up.

"We understand your desire to return to your home," She said. "It has been an honour to work with you."

*

She felt the wind pull against her side and closed her eyes to relish in the sensation. As she opened them, the sight of the great expanse of beautiful blue ocean assaulted her eyes. The smell reached her nose and the taste of the salt touched her lips.

Out in the distance she could see the subtly raised land where she had often visited. She could almost feel the soft sand of the beach under her toes but as she flexed them, all she felt was the air. A deep sigh escaped her lips.

These sensations were second to none.

*

"So what's wrong with it?" Rodney asked hesitantly. If there was anyone but her and Colonel Sheppard there at this time, it would be a different story.

"I think this crystal might have a defect. These doors haven't been opened in a few thousand years..." She offered and sure enough, replacing the crystal the doors slid open.

"So what's the first thing you're going to do when you get back, Sergeant?" John asked as he walked past.

"To be honest, sir, I haven't thought about it."

"Sergeant, everyone on this base has an answer to that question." He was right.

*

The light from the stairs she was sitting on illuminated the whole room, yet it was still so dark, so silent.

The gate room at night was the only time when she seemed like the one person in the galaxy. She would sit and study the gate for what felt like millennia. Yet each time she looked there was something new.

But there was also memories of flag covered caskets being carried through to the other side. So many of her friends had been sent through that rippling arc.

She would leave before she had the chance to join them.

*

There was only one person who could stop her. She wasn't sure who that person was until she entered that gym on her last morning in the galaxy.

He wasn't sparring as she would have expected at this time of the day. He was just sitting silently by the one window. He was staring at the floor and only looked up when she sat next to him.

"Aren't you going to convince me not to go?" She asks him after he avoids her gaze.

"I can't stop you. You were always stronger than me."

She felt like both screaming and laughing. He didn't understand how wrong his words were. How he was the only one who had her and he didn't even know it.

"It's a good time," She says, looking up to the ceiling to stop the tears from falling.

"The sun is shining," He says, finally looking at her. "That's always a good time."

She nods and despite her efforts, the tear escapes.

"When you're next on earth..." She starts. It takes her a while to finish. "Look me up, kay?"

He nods. But as she leaves, they both know that that time will most likely never come.

*


End file.
